IndyCar to hold 2019 Spring Training at COTA

IndyCar to hold 2019 Spring Training at COTA

The IndyCar Series will move its official pre-season Spring Training test to the heart of Texas.

RACER has learned the newest track added to the schedule, Circuit of The Americas, will play host to the IndyCar field for an early February visit to the Austin-based road course.

COTA replaces ISM Raceway in Phoenix as the site of IndyCar’s Spring Training venue after the one-mile oval was dropped from the calendar for 2019. IndyCar will race on the 3.4-mile Hermann Tilke-designed COTA course over the weekend of March 22-24, and its believed Spring Training could move farther west in 2020.

WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, which served as a popular Spring Training destination during the CART IndyCar Series and Champ Car World Series days, is said to be under consideration for pre-season testing in 2020, and only after the Monterey County-owned facility completes the required safety and infrastructure updates prior to its IndyCar race on September 22, 2019.

With the 2.2-mile road course expected to finish its upgrades shortly after the IndyCar season opens on March 10 in St. Petersburg, it will most likely be nominated for an official test day closer to its late September race date.

Marshall Pruett

The 2019 season marks Marshall Pruett's 33rd year working in the sport. In his role today for RACER, Pruett covers open-wheel and sports car racing as a writer, reporter, photographer, and filmmaker. In his previous career, he served as a mechanic, engineer, and team manager in a variety of series, including IndyCar, IMSA, and World Challenge.